I had a visitor in the afternoon, my neighbour Salo. She had brought us some walnuts and home made sponge cake, bless her. It was good to talk to someone different from my husband for a change, hahahaha.
Not many people live in the village permanently. I tried to count and think it is just 10. Other people, like us with links to the village or a house here, often come at the weekend and in the holidays, so it isn't completely deserted. However, Montrondo, is definitely part of what they call "empty Spain". Roughly 90% of the population (about 42 million) live in towns and cities that occupy just 30% of the land while the remaining 10% occupy the remaining 70% and Spain is pretty big.
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| Empty vs crowded Spain 90% live in just 30% of the land and 10% in the remaining 70% |
There is a lot of talk but not much is being done about it. Empty Spain (la España vacía or España vaciada) lacks the most basic of services; health, education, internet and even though housing is very cheap, rural Spain is not an option for many people from the city precisely because of the lack of services, not to mention the job market. I wonder how many people lived in Montrondo when Eladio was a child, probably a couple of hundred or more. Oh how that figure has dwindled. In the 60's he persuaded his parents to leave the hard life of farming cows to move to the nearest city- León - and they did , as many others before and after them; the original cause of "empty Spain" But their roots here have never been forgotten. Our girls now nearing 40, love the village and little Elliot does too. So when we built the house 8 years ago we did it not only for us but for our daughters and future generations. That's why I love seeing Elliot and Juliet enjoying their time here like their mother Oli when she was a child. It was more a sentimental investment than anything else. It's also an incredibly safe place to bring children, especially in the summer, when it is anything but empty.
There is not much entertainment around here so you have to bring your own and we came armed with our PCs, my iPad, our mobiles, kindles, DVD player, smart watches and blue tooth headphones. That means we need more and more plugs so recently I invested in a sort of control tower which is what we call it and it goes with us everywhere. This is what half the kitchen table looked like in Montrondo this week when we were connected. Quite a sight I thought I ought to show you.
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| Our control tower in Montrondo |
You might notice there is also a note pad for hand written notes. Well, we all still write by hand occasionally don't we? Funnily enough this last Monday was the International Day of handwriting - there seems to be an international day for everything these days. It caught my attention and brought back memories of lessons in calligraphy at Rossfield, my posh primary school in Bradford. Our teacher, Miss Haze (or was it Miss Haize?), was very strict and thanks to her I had beautiful handwriting. However, it has suffered over the years and she would be appalled at how I write now, owing to the digital age I'm sure she would never understand.
There is a semi smart TV in Montrondo but internet is the basic type (ADSL) which makes watching Netflix a slight challenge. We watched more of Fauda that night. It's very gripping.
I slept so well here, waking at around 8 am instead of 6 am and feel completely restored mentally and physically but I don't think I could live here for longer than a month. However, it's nice to come and go when we please or when we are free to come.
Again we woke up to sub zero temperatures on Monday this week. We had another quiet and repetitive day, not that I am complaining. Our time in the village was very restoring for the soul, the body and the mind. Again we wrapped up well for our walk that morning as you can see in the photo below.
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| Our walk on Tuesday morning |
We met other walkers, not many and curiously a man who is not from the area but upped and left Alicante to live in Murias by himself and his dog. It must be a lonely life. No way could I live here alone.
Of note that day, I tried my hand at making the perfect Spanish tortilla using the old fashioned kitchen range, so much in use in this area. This is it and I am not an expert at using it but it does make food taste better. It must be thanks to the oak wood Eladio uses to fire it up. When I posted a photo of it on Instagram people thought it was an antique cooking range. It's not as they still make them in many areas of Spain and we got ours when we built the house.
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| The cooking range in our kitchen in Montrondo |
I had used it already for making soup and frying steak and mushrooms but tortilla would be more challenging. To my surprise it turned out a treat. This is what it looked like.
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| The perfect Spanish tortilla accompanied by ibérico ham - a good combination |
If you are interested, here is my recipe, one I have perfected over the years. If you are not into cooking, just skip this part (hahaha).
How to make the perfect Spanish tortilla
This recipe will make two small to medium tortillas and is much easier
than making one large one.
Ingredients: Olive oil, 3 to 4 medium sized potatoes, 1 large semi sweet onion,
salt, 4 large eggs. These are the basic ingredients for a Spanish tortilla,
although some prefer it without onion – not my case.
Method
1) Finely chop one semi
sweet large onion
2) Peel, wash and slice
about 3 medium sized potatoes
3) Fry the potatoes and
onion together in olive oil in a large frying pan until they become soft and
slightly brown. - use about the same amount of oil you would for making
chips.
4) Meanwhile whisk 4
large eggs and season with a pinch of salt - make sure the mixture gets really
fluffy. Leave aside in a big bowl to which you will add the potatoes and onions
later.
5) When the potatoes and
onion are softer than soft, remove the pan from the hob and pour them through a
colander to separate the oil. Add the potato and onion mixture to the whisked
eggs and stir with a wooden spoon.
6) Heat a smaller frying
pan and add a couple of spoonsful of the leftover olive oil. Only when it is
sizzling, add half the mixture of potato and onion. Cook until you
think the base is ready.
7) Then the tricky part comes.
Take the pan off the hob, cover the pan with a plate larger than the pan and
turn right upside down.
8) Return the omelette
to the pan with the underdone part at the bottom. It must just hit the hot oil
and brown at the bottom but not cook anymore inside. Immediately remove it
from the hob, turn upside down again or just slide onto a plate.
9) Repeat the process
for the second half of the mixture.
It’s important for the
egg part of the tortilla to be a bit underdone inside but brown on the outside.
Once out of the pan, it will continue to cook with the residual heat. So,
if you like yours moist – which is how it tastes best – serve
immediately. If it is not moist inside, it can taste a bit
rubbery and dry, so getting the right consistency is key to the perfect
tortilla.
Later we devoured three more episodes of Season 4 of Fauda and only had two left to watch but decided we would watch it from the beginning again to refresh our memories and keep us entertained. The Middle East and its problems fascinate us.
Tuesday came and brought cold weather again. Olivia was sent to cover the weather for her programme to the pretty town of El Escorial in the mountains of Madrid. It's where the Kings and Queens of Spain are buried and notorious for its cold weather. Here she is, freezing, no doubt. This is the clip from her report which I later found on the programme's twitter feed as she never tells us when she is on live.
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| Oli reporting live on the weather in Spain from San Lorenzo del Escorial on Tuesday morning |
While she was reporting, we were having our breakfast after which we got in touch with the Ikea after sales people run, not surprisingly, run by Electrolux which is, of course, Swedish. It seems we had managed to get a man to come on Thursday either to repair the induction hub or replace it. We didn't want to leave here until it was sorted. In the end he came on Friday. He took it away to be repaired and has promised to bring it this morning around midday. We cannot leave until he comes.
That morning I got my first pension pay of the year. The government had announced a rise of 8.5% for pensioners, supposedly in line with inflation and I was interested to know how much more I would be earning. However, part of that would be offset by rising income tax - in my case by 3.5% which meant the net increase was only 5%. For people who earn an average or low pension the increase is very little. I was interested to know how many pensioners there are in Spain and it is over 11 million. However, only 463,000 earn the maximum pension. Eladio and I are one of the lucky ones. In Spain too the retirement age is now 66 and will be soon 67. Anyway, enough of that, apart from to say that life as a retiree (hate the word pensioner) is great although I dread old age.
Before our morning walk and my long leisurely shower, I put a shoulder of lamb on in the oven with potatoes. I couldn't believe it was ready in under an hour. So, after a quick morning coffee - yes we maintained the practice here - off we went for our morning walk to work up an appetite for the roast lamb - my faourite meat!
It seemed colder than the previous days as there was a bit of cloud and a slight wind. Everything looked beautiful as it does in the winter with snow. We went past one of the two wells in the village. Each has its own name and this one is "El Pilo del Barrio". Every nook and cranny has a name in this village where only 10 people live!
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"El Pillo del barrio" - one of the two wells/fountains in the village - frozen
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As we left the village, I was greeted with the sight of horses in a snowy field. They belong to Manolo, the only villager who has cattle and horses; another man who lives alone which can't be easy. When we come he is often in my thoughts as he was the person to rescue me when I broke my leg on ice in the mountains 8 years ago.
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| Horses in a field as we left Montrondo |
I just had to take a video to record the beautiful scene that met my eyes, to share with you
here.
I got Eladio to pose too. For the record he is wearing the Nokia woolen hat I purchased from the Nokia store when I went to Lapland probably in 2004 or 2005 - there was a lot of snow there. I still have my skiing trousers too from another Nokia trip - this time to Baqueira in Spain around 2003. They are now kept in Montrondo for when it is cold and come very much in handy. Nokia had great merchandising. And here is Eladio in the slightly too small Nokia woolen hat posing with the horses in the field in the background.
Eladio with by the old path to Murias with the horses in the field in the background
To accompany the photos I took a video which I want you to see so that you can appreciate the beauty of this area in the winter.
This is it.
We were home at lunch time which for us is generally at 2 pm. I heated up the lamb and we devoured a delicious meal. Afterwards, as always, here, we watched the news. Here is the scene for you to get the idea.
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| Watching the news after lunch |
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| After she had finished her bone, Pippa joined us. She always chooses the nearest part of the sofa to the wood burner |
And then, as always, we fell asleep watching the news and had a siesta. I couldn't believe I slept for nearly 2 hours!
I could't believe I was hungry again either when it was dinner time but the mountain air and snow in Montrondo only increase my appetite. The news was good that day. The NATO allies agreed finally to send tanks to Ukraine. On the other hand, I think their hesistancy is how Russia will react. Well, it can't get much worse can it? Eladio thinks we are in the middle of World War 3. I hope not.
I was cheered up by two more bookings I got that night. Roger, our Canadian guest who was born in Panama was returning that evening and today a professional padel player from Sweden is coming for 13 nights. We also had the Chinese family staying and this weekend a group of 8 students. So the house was chock a block. When we go home it will be less so.
That night we devoured the last two episodes of Fauda's Season 4 and I hated the ending - no spoilers if you haven't reached the end. We both agree it is one of the best spy thriller series out there, as good or better than Homeland. And then we started watching it from the beginning again. My memory is so sketchy these days that there is no problem watching series more than once as I can hardly remember anything. The exceptions are my favourite films of all times: The Sound of Music, Dr. Zhivago, Gandhi, Gone with the Wind and The Inn of Sixth Happiness.
Wednesday came and again we woke up to -9ºc. Seriously? Back home in Madrid Oli sent us a charming video of our grandchildren, Juliet and Elliot, going to school. We haven't seen them for at least 2 weeks but will be seeing a lot of them this week. Miguel has been sent to a dreadful music festival today in that dreadful seaside town, Benidorm, for a week so Oli will be alone with them and will need a hand. . This week will be very different to our quiet time in Montrondo.
That day was the first day we left the village since we arrived the Wednesday before. We went to do the shopping in Villablino, the nearest town to Montrondo. I think our supplies could have lasted longer but I, at least, needed a change in our routine.
We didn't leave until I had had my leisurely shower. I love the slow living in Montrondo and the house we built to spec from the original family house. I especially love our bedroom which we designed ourselves - lots of black and white. I was a bit inspired by a hotel I love in Barcelona, the 1898 where all the rooms are decorated in stripes. So I took some photos for you to see.
The huge modern shower is great but I particularly love our claw foot bath tub. I remember the builders saying it wouldn't fit in the en suite so I told them damn it, just put it in the room outside the bathroom which is what they did. I don't use it much but it's very decorative. Pippa uses it more than me hahaha. She lives like a queen when she is with us in Montrondo.
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| Our black and white themed bedroom and bathroom with its claw foot bathtub. |
Leaving the village was a challenge as the car was literally frozen. Not having anything better to remove the frost with , my husband used his bare hands as you can see in the photo below.
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| Eladio removing the frost from the car with his bare hands |
I was worried out +20 year old Volvo wouldn't start but it did. I suppose as it was made in Sweden it was designed to withstand sub zero temperatures. It used to be my Nokia company car and has stood us in good stead for some years now. Soon the engine purred and we hit the road. The drive to Villablino is over a mountain pass and the scenery was even more spectacular that day because of the snow.
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| A scene from the spectacular drive from Montrondo to Villablino - 22km away |
It takes just under half an hour but we went slowly as at some points as there was ice on the road and there we were with our summer tyres.
Our main shopping was done at Gadis - a supermarket chain from Galicia in the north of Spain - which I only wish had a branch near us as I love the produce and variety there. We stocked up for the remainder of our time in Montrondo and to take provisions home where I suspected the fridge would be rather bare.
Finally this week we got to have coffee out at "elevenses" (12 midday for us in Spain). That was quite a luxury. Our last stop was to buy delicious "cecina" (cured beef, similar to braseola) and some ibérico ham from a shop I discovered through my sister-in-law Dolores. Called
El As de Jamón, it is run by a young South American woman, Patricia, and her husband and sells the best quality cecina I have ever bought, even better than at "Aramburu" in Asturias and far cheaper. I noticed they sell online so when I run out I might make an order from Madrid.
The drive home was just as beautiful and we were nearly alone on the road. What I appreciate most about this area - Omaña (a sub region of the province of León) is that it hasn't been discovered by tourists. That is its salient feature and may it remain tourist free for a long time. As we drove through Murias, I spotted a white horse in a snowy white field. It's not often that happens so I asked Eladio to stop the car so I could take a photo for you.
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| A camouflaged white horse in a white field as seen in Murias on Wednesday morning |
It's beautiful isn't it? Although I felt a little sorry for the horse which must feel very lonely. If it was mine it would have company and be covered in a blanket which I have seen in fields in Sweden and in the UK.
We were home just before 2 pm, unloaded the shopping and Eladio lit the cooking range as I needed it to make our lunch. Lunch was soup, fried fish and salad followed by delicious fruit. That's something we eat a lot of and I always have a huge variety that must include mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. We are fruit and veg freaks but I'm afraid we are old fashioned and still enjoy meat. No way will I ever become a vegetarian.
The news was all about tanks for Ukraine which Russia said they will destroy. It was also about the Brazilian ex Barça football player, Dani Alves, who allegedly raped a girl at a discotheque in Barcelona in December - shame on him. There seem to be so many stories of sexual assault these days it makes me sick. I wonder if it is happening more now than in the past or is just that more stories are being reported on? I guess the answer is the latter. There was also a horrible story which could have come straight from Fauda. A lone Moroccan man wielding a machete went on the rampage, going into 2 churches in Algeciras in Southern Spain. He killed a verger and tried to kill a clergyman and all this while a service was going on. Is he a terrorist or just a madman? Killing in the name of religion is loathsome but has happened throughout the centuries. Empty Spain might be empty but it is far safer than the cities in these mad times. We always say that if war comes we are moving here.
On Thursday morning we woke up to new snow. It snowed most of the morning, new snow on top of old snow and soon most surfaces were covered in the white stuff. Here is a photo of the back garden while it was snowing. I just love the peace that snow brings. My neighbour Salo says there is a theory that people sleep best when it snows. She may have a point
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| More snow on Thursday |
Eladio went out to get more wood from the shed to stoke the cooking range which I needed. That day I made the most delicious "fabada" - bean stew - from ingredients I had bought at Gadis including local butter beans from the El Bierzo region. He wore his "madreñas" - wooden clogs to walk over the snow.
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| Eladio's "madreñas" - wooden clogs |
Madreñas are typically worn and made in Leon and Asturias. They are worn with slippers and are designed mostly for cattle farmers to avoid the muck. They are not easy to walk in if you haven't had the practice. Eladio has of course as he was once a "shepherd boy".
Even though it was snowing, we dared to go out for a walk. I was dressed in my skiing trousers, thick boots, thick knitted socks (yours Anne from Finland) and my winter skiing coat. I felt and moved like an astronaut. I love the snow but skiing was never for me although I did try twice in my life. My husband, in contrast, is a natural. When he was a child, he wore home made wooden skis to ski to school with in the winter. It was common in Montrondo. What weren't common in the "old days" in Montrondo were snow ploughs. Just as we opened the gates onto the road we were met by one and I had to have a photo. I was glad it had come as the road would be clearer for our walk.
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| The snow plough as seen on Thursday when it snowed again |
It was a very wintery sight which I had to take a photo of. I also took a selfie to remember the moment.
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| A selfie in the snow on Thursday morning |
Most people would be making snowmen or throwing snow balls. I realised we weren't and that's probably because we are now too old for such childish things. I wouldn't have minded having a sledge though.
I was just content to enjoy the scenery and breathe in the fresh snowy air. The same horses we had seen the previous day were still in the same field and I hoped they had not spent the night there. I was worried they would be cold but even so enjoyed looking at them. I love horses and think the horse is one of the most beautiful animals in the world. When I was a child I wanted riding lessons but my parents thought that was for rich kids. My mother told me the nearest I would get to them was with my pony tail. I would have loved to learn to ride. Eladio did as it was the natural thing when he was a child. They had a horse called "Moro" (the Moor) which they all rode. He remembers his father taking him on their horse after the Christmas holidays all the way to Murias to catch the coach that would take him all the way back to the Seminary in León. He doesn't like that memory. I can hardly imagine a scene like that today. Life was hard in the village but people have fond memories. So it can't have been that bad.
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| Horses in the snow |
And here he is in modern day dress; very different to what he would have worn as a young boy riding "Moro" after the Christmas holidays. How times have changed.
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| Eladio in the new snow on Thursday on our walk |
I wanted a photo with the horses and I got one, thanks to my husband. I am carrying little Pippa so she can be in the photo. I felt sorry for her without her coat which we had left in Madrid. But no worries, she had a hot bath when we got home - yes in our claw foot bath tub - and then dried off by the fire.
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| Me, Pippa and the horses - I felt like an astronaut in my skiing outfit. |
We came home to have my delicious "fabada" which I reckon tasted better than ever as it had been cooked on the range. It was divine, as good as any served at the best restaurants in Asturias I have to say with not much modesty.
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| The fabada I made on Thursday, the day of the new snowfall. |
On
Friday morning we woke up to a new snowfall. This was the view from our kitchen window, the back garden and terrace where we make barbecues in the summer!
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| The view from our kitchen window on Friday morning |
That day I wanted to go to Villablino again as Friday is market day. I had also booked a table for lunch at the best restaurant in the area, "El Campillo" in Sosas de Laciana. I was worried we may not make it because of the snow. We weren't leaving until the induction hob technician came so I hoped by then the snow plough would have made an appearance. I was wrong. Even so I badgered my reluctant husband to remove the snow from the car and drive to Villablino. I knew it was a challenge and he wasn't happy about it. He went along with me to keep the peace I suppose but you know what? Soon the snow was removed, the car unfroze and we could make a move with care, of course.
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| Eladio reluctantly removing the snow from the car on Friday so that we could drive to Villablino |
Just as we were setting off, there coming towards us were Manolo's cows following him in his tractor as if they were cattle. What a sight. Later I realised he must have left them in the field the night before, poor animals. Only on Friday would he take them to be sheltered. I had to have photos of course, like the one below and a
video which Eladio and I both enjoyed looking at when we were having our coffee in Villablino a while later.
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| Manolo's horses being led to shelter |
We drove carefully, especially on the road to Murias and to Senra which joins the main road to Villablino. That was clearer but the snow plough hadn't gone past either. This was the view from our car. Beautiful!
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| The snowy road to Villablino |
We arrived safe and sound in Villablino and felt as though we had had another adventure. Again I said to Eladio that my motto in life is "
who dares wins". His is quite the opposite but opposites attract don't they?
I had hoped to visit the market but couldn't find it. Not that I needed anything did I? So off we went to Sosas de Laciana to El Campillo. We have been quite a few times and it never disappoints. They offer a menu of the day for just 15 euros. It includes wine, bread, dessert and coffee and has at least 8 choices for both the first and second courses. If our house was nearer we would go more often. Being January it was very quiet and we were the only diners. We were ushered to a corner table which we loved. The waiter took our orders and then I went to spend a penny and when I came back this was the sight that greeted me - a table full of wonderful food and drink and my husband with a big smile on his face. He was glad to have come after all, despite the challenge of the snow hahahaha.
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| Lunch at El Campillo was well worth the challenge of leaving Montrondo in thick snow on Friday morning |
We enjoyed every morsel. It was also great to be out and about again and to be served a meal after all the cooking I had done.
On our way home, the roads were clearer, except from Senra to Montrondo. Once in Murias, we went past the white field with the white horse again and I had to stop to take another picture. I am very fond of that horse and only wish it was kept warmer and had company. That is not how to look after an animal I thought.
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| I saw the lonely white horse in Murias again on Friday |
We had not taken Pippa as she would have had to stay in the car while we were at the restaurant. She was ecstatic to see us, as usual. But I didn't feel bad about leaving her alone in our warm and cosy house. Friday was the only day we skipped our siesta. Instead we watched a bit more of Fauda and then Eladio went on a cleaning spree of the bathrooms, bless him.
Meanwhile, in Auckland, New Zealand, where my cousin Katty and family live, the city was experiencing the worst floods ever recorded. People died, the airport closed and my Kiwi family battled with draining the water that had flooded their whole first floor. They also tried to battle with the insurance company. I was flabbergasted and felt for them. Freak weather is becoming more and more frequent. Another cousin, Andrei, in Canada, reported "it snowed enough here yesterday that we beat the 100 year record for accumulation for the 25th January! Our adventure in the snow here is nothing compared to what he faces so often in the winter and where they use snow ploughs even to clear the "sidewalks". We only met once and it was in 1977 - when I was just 20. I traveled with my mother who was to meet her brother, Andrei's father, Sasha, for the first time since WW2. What a meeting. I shall never forget the snow in Montreal - snow here is kid's play compared - and how we actually managed to fly out of the city in the biggest snow storm I have ever witnessed.
Saturday dawned and it had snowed again. I love the snow but don't like walking on the slippery road to Murias as I dread a fall - I have a tendency to fall as you probably know. Yesterday though it was quite covered with snow and not slippery at all.
We woke up to a quiet house unlike our house in Madrid where, unbelievably, 13 people had slept - the group of 8, the Chinese family of 3 as well as Suzy and Lucy. Our Chinese family have finally found a flat and may be gone by the time we are home. I am going to stay in touch with the mother, Amanda - a teacher of English - as we really hit it off. The big group will have left this morning and in their place, Roger - the Canadian from Panama - and a Swedish padel player will be coming.
Yesterday Eladio went into cleaning mode again and hoovered the whole house. I did a few shelves (I hate cleaning) and surfaces but mostly concentrated on making soup for lunch on the cooking range. It was snowing again and we were determined to get in another walk, our last here before going home. But first for my long and leisurely shower after my long and leisurely breakfast - I love slow mornings! While I was showering, Pippa was waiting for me right outside on the bathroom mat. She literally follows me everywhere and I had to have a photo to record that moment too. So many moments to record..... No worries, you can't see any of my ugly ageing body haha.
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| Me in the shower and Pippa on the mat waiting for me! She literally follows me everywhere. |
By then it was time for our mid morning coffee - quite a ritual - and then for our walk, once again in the snow. Just as we were leaving some of Eladio's siblings and their families were arriving from León - they are about 1h away from here - we would see them later.
And off we went into our private winter wonderland once again. I had had my fill of snow but it still awed me. Eladio took a couple of photos of me ready to go and I quite like them so chose one for this week's feature photo. My friend Sandra commented "you are such a fashion icon! Pink boots pink gloves, lovely blue coat". If only she knew none of it was worn consciously, it just worked out that way. The pink wellington boots are hand me downs from Oli, the fuchsia gloves came from Yoigo merchandising and as to the coat, it's a very old H&M one I bought in Stockholm once. It's very warm but rather heavy. What Sandra couldn't see were that the trousers I'm wearing are Eladio's old Adidas bottoms. So no I'm not a fashion icon but I do like the result hahahha.
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| In the snow yesterday - colour coordinated but not a fashion icon hahaha |
We came home to a ready made meal - my leftover bean stew (fabada) and then another siesta. It was the perfect winter day, like all the others; days to remember.
And today is Sunday, the end of our stay here. But we will be back. It has been a real adventure and a tonic to our systems.
Cheers now friends until next Sunday. Have a great day and a great week. Till next time,
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